1. Field of the Invention
The instant invention relates to mechanisms for tightening the laces of shoes, skates, or other footwear. Particular, the invention is a hand-held apparatus adapted to clamp or pinch a lace along various locations to provide an upward pulling force with a mechanical advantage.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various mechanical devices are known in the art which aid in the tightening or speed-lacing of shoes or skate laces. Such devices exist because of the limited force that can be applied by hand when tightening laces, especially for footwear which demands considerable tightness, such as ice skates or snowboarding boots.
Some devices are provided directly as part of the lace or lacing system. U.S. Pat. No. 6,568,103 to Durocher teaches a speed lacing device for an article of footwear having a rigid portion comprising a curved neck and a fastening tail that together define an almost-friction-free sliding surface for a lacing cord, the lacing cord being in contact with the sliding surface in either a state of tension or a state of relaxation. U.S. Pat. No. 6,112,379 to Fernandez shows a fastener for cords including a support body, a first flexible lever arm and a second flexible lever arm. The support body has an insertion device to guide a cord onto a main surface thereof. U.S. Pat. No. 5,347,695 to Lopez Saiz describes a rapid tightening and loosening device for shoe lace, which has a small plate with a hook for insertion in the shoe eyelet and end ring for the passage of the lace.
Additional lace tightening or speed-lacing means can be provided using apparatuses which do not form part of the lacing system, rather they removably connect to or contact the lace. U.S. Pat. No. 8,181,320 to Wolfberg for example shows a shoe lace adjuster, which has inner and outer frames comprising inner and outer frame apertures to receive ends of a shoelace, respectively, and a resilient member moving inner and outer frames between unlocked and locked configurations. U.S. Pat. No. 7,152,285 to Liao teaches a shoe lace fastening device, having a rib extending from the inside of a space and located between two apertures, a positioning unit connected to the side frame via apertures, and teeth for securing the shoe lace by force of a biasing unit.
Inherent in the art is that it is undesirable to completely re-make or significantly modify the traditional shoe lacing system comprising simply a lace threaded through the eyelets or hooks of the footwear. Replacing systems which deviate from traditional laces are burdensome, expensive, and would limit the wearer to very few replacement options. Also, traditional devices for tightening laces which do not form part of the lacing system are overly-complex, expensive, and are not easy to use as they require the lace be inserted or threaded through small holes, resulting potentially in a more time-consuming process.
There is a need then for a lace-tightening device which is inexpensive, simple to use and which is used in conjunction with traditional shoe or skate laces.